15 Cute DIY Beach Wedding Decorations

Many bachelorettes envision their dream wedding to be on a beach; the soft breeze blowing through their softly curled hair, the sweet and salty aroma of the ocean flirting with their nose, and the beautiful sandy shore setting the perfect mood as she and her husband-to-be recite their vows into the sunset. Ahhh...how perfect would that be?

Beach weddings can be naturally beautiful since a beach comes pre-decorated! Whether you choose the pearly white shores or a beach with sand of gold, each comes embellished with seashells, stones, and driftwood.

This is a wedding in planning, though, so you want your wedding to be as beautiful as you’ve ever imagined your wedding day, while embracing the absolute ambiance of a beach. How exactly do you accomplish this without breaking the bank? By making your own beach wedding decorations!

One of the best ways to do beach wedding decorations is to do them yourself; this way, you get exactly what you want for a fraction of what you would pay a professional or pay at a store for pre-made decorations. Need a few ideas to get you thinking? Well, here you go!

1. Seashell bouquets or centerpieces: At a beach, you might want flowers, or to ditch them altogether! If you opt for the ladder, make bouquets using nothing but the art of the ocean instead. These can be bridal bouquets and/or centerpieces!

2. Rope-wrapped cans: Wrap coffee cans in rope and use them as vases for easy DIY beach decorations!

3. Alternate confetti ideas: Rice should not be thrown at any outdoor wedding, period. So consider other confetti options for the grand exit: biodegradable, mini beach balls, bubbles, basically anything that is easy to pick up, or not bad for the environment.

4. Ring bearer shells: Glue a clamshell in the open position, decorate it with ribbon in the theme colors and have the ring bearer use this to carry the rings up instead of a pillow!

5. Line the aisle: You’ll definitely need an aisle runner to go over all of that sand, so it makes sense to have something nice along the sides of the aisle, such as starfish stuck up in the sand, or a bunch of pretty seashells.

6. Seashell tealights: Using large seashells, fill them with some sand from the beach and place a theme-colored tealight inside it. This looks great on any table!

7. Buckets for kids: Sometimes kids cannot sit still, so if your wedding will have kids present, have a bucket for each one of them filled with things that will allow them to play quietly during the ceremony. Designate a spot in the back for the kids to play as well.

8. Leis: Let your guests be decorations by handing out a lei to each guest! This is a fun seating arrangement idea too: For the ceremony and reception, color coordinate the leis to the rows and tables of seating, so guests can find their seats by the color lei they are wearing!

9. Tropical flowers: Beaches are associated with tropical flowers so using pretty, tropical flowers can add some much-needed contrast to your ceremony!

10. “Shoes optional” sign: Have a little table set up with complimentary flip flops where women can kick off their heels and leave them there, in exchange for a pair of flip flops or walking barefoot to their seats.

11. Chair decorations: For the chairs by the aisle, it looks nice to hang some type of decoration from the chair to line the aisle with something pretty. Using starfish, raffia, flowers, theme-colored tulle and ribbon, make a decoration that will hang down from the chair.

12. Sand unity: At a beach, attempting unity candles is risky since you never know how strong the breeze will be. Opt for a fun alternative, such as making sand art together or releasing doves!

13. Escort cards: Forget the plain paper escort cards and use the ocean’s treasures instead! Using starfish, sand dollars, or any kind of paintable shell, paint the person’s name and table number!

14. Canopy: A nice canopy should be set up at the front. You can buy a frame to assemble or make one yourself out of whatever your heart desires. Use tulle, seashells and flowers to decorate it to go with the theme!

15. Bottles: Everyone knows about messages in a bottle, so you can use this idea for centerpieces, table numbers, and even as an aisle decoration! Choose to place sand, seashells, rolled up messages, pictures, or anything you feel looks cute!

Making beach wedding decorations is a lot of fun, and even more fun when you get your bridal party together to help while sipping on some wine. You only get married once, so go all out in the decorating! Your time and effort spent will surely show, and your guests will be in awe.